Beyond Dice #2 - 3D Structures

As week 2 of our September Setting sale, this title has been marked down by 25% for one week only! To map out more savings, visit our September Setting sale page.

Math in most RPGs is just “crunch” – evaluating many modifiers, counting, some addition and subtraction, and (on rare occasions) multiplication and division.  Mathematics, though, goes far beyond the four basic operations.

This series of booklets demonstrates ways in which you can introduce interesting and accessible math into your games, either to open up new possibilities or to learn and practice new skills. Some of our supplements will call for knowledge of more advanced math, but most will not, or will only use it for proving statements.

What is covered in this issue?

The second issue takes us into the third dimension.  We begin by learning how to expand tic-tac-toe into three dimensions and then we explore how to create 3D structures - labyrinths, mazes, and dungeons.  These are not simply buildings with multiple levels, but rather distnict objects in which the party's resources are strained by the frequent challenge of moving vertically.  Plenty of examples are provided, so you can have a handful of ready-made structures into which to drop (sometimes literally) your adventuring party.

Who is this booklet for?

• GMs looking for interesting structures with which to torture their parties.
• Players who want to see that monsters and traps are not the only obstacles in a dungeon - sometimes the building itself challenges you.
• Students (ideally in high school or early university, but all are welcome) who are interested in understanding how to visualize three dimensional objects, how to represent them in two-dimensional maps, and how to work with both of these.

Includes a dozen exercises, with solutions for most.

This is an invaluable tool for anyone interested in improving their ability to work with 3D models or who may take linear algebra in the near future.

In the coming months, issues of Beyond Dice will discuss trigonometry, coordinates for 3-D dungeons, interesting ways curses can make labyrinths more difficult (what if you couldn't turn left?), and even 4-D dungeons.

Also available from Random Wyvern:

The first issue of Beyond Dice, teaching coordinate systems and distances for both square and hex grids.

Three Pocket Quest games and their supplements:

CATastophe on Stardust 7 is a family-friendly, sci-fi, Mythos-horror heist.  With cats.  Co-written (and published by) the folks at SRAS Games.

Cthulhu Stardust is a game of the final years of humanity, under an attack by the creatures of the Lovecraft Mythos, together with "Oracles", a set of oracle tables that add to the eldritch mayhem!  Definitely not a family-friendly game, unless your family is not all that family-friendly itself.

Pinkysworn and its free supplement, Pinkysworn Oracles is another flexible game built from an odd premise, this game uses the Ironsworn system to allow you to play in a summer camp where a pinky promise is the most important vow a kid can take.

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CATastrophe	Cthulhu Stardust	"Oracles"	Pinkysworn	Pinkysworn Oracles